Morgan's Woman by Judith E. French

Author:Judith E. French [French, Judith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller

No longer making any effort to hide their tracks, Ash kept the pace at breakneck speed. They crossed rocky gullies, scrambled down bare slopes, and galloped across alpine meadows knee-deep in blue-green grass and wildflowers.

They raced down canyons and led the horses along goat paths too narrow to ride where the threat of rock slides made Tamsin breathless. And then when the boiling sun was directly overhead, they stopped on a high ridge to spell the horses. Ash shaded his eyes, looked back the way they had come, and swore softly.

"Look there." He pointed to a string of horsemen that spilled across an open hollow.

"Cheyenne?" Tamsin shivered despite the midday heat.

"Too far off to say for certain."

"It's them, isn't it?"

"Switch your saddle to the Appaloosa."

Tamsin shook her head. "I've never ridden her. I'd feel safer on Fancy."

"Save her for an open stretch. That's a Nez Perce pony. They don't breed tougher horseflesh anywhere. I don't know where Buffalo Horn's bunch got hold of her, but I'd trade both thoroughbreds for her any day. She's fast and surefooted, and she's got a heart as big as these mountains."

"Why don't you ride her? Your Shiloh's worn out."

"I'll ride the devil's whelp," he said.

"Dancer?" She was too exhausted to do more than shake her head. "You can't ride him. You're not used to an English saddle, and he's not trained to a western."

"You put a rope on him and tie him to a tree. I'll ride the bastard or know why."

"He'll kill you," she warned. "I can barely ride him."

"If I don't kill him first."

It took the best part of ten minutes for her to coax the stallion near enough to slip a bridle over his head and switch the supplies to Shiloh's back. Then she mounted the Indian horse. She didn't bother to put a lead line on Fancy. She'd follow, and if Shiloh didn't, having him on a rope would only endanger them all.

Ash took Dancer's reins in one hand and put his foot in the stirrup. The stallion squealed with fury and reared, nearly throwing them both off the edge of the mountain.

Tamsin stifled a scream as loose rock crumbled and Ash flung his weight forward and lashed the horse's rump with the ends of the leathers. Dancer's white-rimmed eyes rolled as he fought to regain his balance.

"Please, God," Tamsin groaned.

The big bay's front feet found solid ground, and he lunged forward onto the narrow trail. "Yaaah!" Ash yelled, driving his heels into the animal's sides.

Dancer reared again, scraping the sky with flashing hooves, slammed into the earth, twisted sideways, and jackknifed. Ash rode him up and down, sticking to the English saddle with the tenacity of a greenbrier.

Unable to stand the tension any longer, Tamsin slapped the Appaloosa's neck. "Get up!" she cried. The mare leapt forward, rounding the bend, scrambling up the last rise, and plunging down the far side with Ash's gelding and Fancy hot on her heels.

Dust rose in swirls as the Indian pony's hooves churned up the twisting trail.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.